Hi everyone, welcome to my blog! I am a UK volunteer with voluntary service overseas and I'll be living in Rwanda in a small town called Nzige. Nzige is in Rwamagana district to the east of the country towards Tanzania.I'll be going out to Rwanda as an education volunteer to work on UNICEF's child friendly schools campaign. by teaching in a teacher training college and setting up a resource centre.

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Boney M

That strange seventies pop band Boney M have a habit of following me wherever I go and I’m not sure I like it. Its actually quite spooky, its like they are stalking me through music videos. Perhaps they are trying to send me some sort of subliminal message through the medium of cheesy pop. A few years ago when me and Jo and Shelley were in Sri Lanka for our summer holidays I remember being in the middle of nowhere by a mountain and hearing Boney M’s hyperactive cheerfulness and marvelling at their gyrating on video while we waited for yet another Sri Lankan curry. I have also heard them in a hotel room in China and on a plane bound for Qatar. When I walked into the staffroom today I immediately felt a sense of déjà vu when I heard ‘Mary’s boy child’ coming from one of my colleagues laptops....

I had no idea that they were such a global phenomenon. I desperately want to know why. So today I spent some time watching them again. I must admit I gained a whole new appreciation for Boney M. Their campness and sequins do indeed make the world a brighter and better place. Maybe I was too quick to judge them before. There are worse things in the world. I just want to know why they have chosen me. I feel I have little in common with them. I don’t have their fabulous mop of afro hair, I look like a Christmas bauble if I wear sequins and I’m not particularly good at disco dancing...I think I could be pondering this question for quite some time. If anyone has any ideas why Boney M have chosen to follow me around the world please let me know.

Boney M were a German group, but seemed to acquire a fairly global following. You probably won't hear their German heavy metal contemporaries - Kraftwerk - who did have UK hits.I guess that Boney M were a bit gospel, so I would not be surprised for them to be popular where you are.I tried to get some Rwandan music in a specialist shop in Brussels, but although he was knowledgeable and had a fair bit of African music, the shopkeeper told me to ask you for names of some Rwandan artists.